Abstract
The 4th chapter aims to present the empirical study conducted primarily in Denmark, with a global outreach comprising 20 LATT couples/40 partners from 18 countries of origin, living in 10 countries. It critiques and moves beyond narrow concepts such as methodological-individualism, nationalism, and conjugalism. The participant selection criteria are delineated as intimate relationship past /current non-cohabiting, and maintaining households in different countries for at least a year. This chapter delineates the couples’ demographics to situate their narratives. It explains the research design, comprising interviews and an interpretive phenomenological analytic approach (Willig, 2019), along with reflections on analytical generalisation and researcher positionality. Ethical principles such as participant autonomy, confidentiality, and avoidance of harm (McLeod, 2011) are emphasised in investigating the sensitive themes of intimacy. Innovatively, it documents the participants’ positive feelings about articulating their experiences and research contributions. Lastly, the five analytic themes are delineated, resulting from an interplay between the empirical narratives and theoretical conceptualisations.
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Notes
- 1.
Tinder, an online dating platform launched in September 2012, has radically changed the landscape of online dating and how we think about relationships, sex, and love. A decade back, match.com and OkCupid did not tend to attract younger users, and for many, there was a stigma attached to using them. The apps have grown in response to a culture where people are single for much longer and a changing sexual morality open to different kinds of relationships, apps have completely altered (Tinder, 2022).
- 2.
I plan to send a summary of the significant findings as well as book publication details to all participants through email when the book is finally published.
- 3.
Ambika Varma originates from India, is married to a Dane, is in a LATT relationship herself, and is fluent in English, Danish, and Hindi, thus presenting linguistic flexibility to the participants, while Christina Naike originates from Peru, is fluent in Danish and English, and speaks some Spanish. Christina also has experience with distance family relations, as some of her extended family members live in Peru.
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Singla, R. (2024). Exploring the Experiences of LATT Couples: The Methodological Focus. In: Living Apart Together Transnationally (LATT) Couples. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-52205-5_4
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